Dr. Milendra Singh
Title
Community participation in wildlife conservation to promote environmental constitutionalism and sustainability in India
Author(s)
,
Dr. Milendra Singh
Document Abstract
Wildlife conservation has gained global attention as a cardinal component of the ecosystem. India
performs wildlife conservation through numerous laws and policies. This paper investigates the significance of
community participation in protecting and improving wildlife resources under the Wildlife Protection Act-1972
(WPA) and the Panchayat Extension in Scheduled Areas Act-1996 (PESA). This paper has conducted a
comparative study of eleven rights granted to PESA Panchayats within 108 PESA-covered districts across ten
PESA-implementing Indian States. The significant right of PESA Panchayats to wildlife resources has been denied
in all States viz. the right to prepare local plans including tribal sub-plans. Many other valuable rights of the
PESA Panchayats have been recognized only in some States viz. right to ownership of MFP, control over MinesMinerals, management of agro-product market and money-lending. The protected areas (PAs) of those States
have done well in wildlife conservation where the PESA has been implemented giving rise to the right of the local
community to use and maintain wildlife resources sustainably. The current study makes a valuable empirical
contribution to wildlife conservation in India analyzing the managerial role of local communities as wildlife
protectors and recommending the introduction of new robust policies to cater to the traditional knowledge (TK)
of local communities for the improvement and protection of wildlife resources with the incentives of consequential
benefits promoting environmental constitutionalism and sustainability in India.
Publisher Name
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD
Rights :
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD